1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wringer for squeezing liquid from a cloth and more particularly to a portable, motor driven wringer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wringers that utilize two rollers to squeeze liquid from a cloth have been known for decades. Early versions utilized a hand crank and a gearing mechanism to provide power to the two rollers, such that they rotated in opposite directions and drew a wet cloth therethrough. A spring mechanism was employed to pressure the rollers together. One example of such a device is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 39,864, entitled Wringer, issued Sept. 8, 1863 to C. H. Packard. One of the two rollers of Packard resides in a curved slot having a radius of curvature centered on the shaft of the gear that drives the roller; thus keeping the gears enmeshed while allowing the spacing between the rollers to change. Other patents of interest are U.S. Pats. No. 278,966; 345,952; 356,641 and 599,431.
Thereafter, motors were utilized to drive the rollers, in replacement of the hand crank. A recent example of such a device is U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,806, entitled Motor Driven Mini-Wringer, issued Nov. 26, 1985 to Doris J. Hewins. In this device an electric motor, located above the rollers, is directly geared to one of the two rollers. The other roller is held in close proximity to the powered roller by a spring mechanism, and a wet rag is drawn through the rollers by the action of the powered roller.
Other prior art related to motorized rollers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,180, entitled Motorized Conveyor Pulley, issued Apr. 4, 1978 to Jackson Chung. This invention relates to a conveyor pulley or roller which contains a motor therewithin. The housing of the motor is fixed and non-rotatable, and the rotating drive shaft of the motor is connected to the outer housing of the roller. Activation of the motor thus drives the roller in rotation. Another powered roller patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,166, entitled Hydraulic Driven Pulley For COnveyors, issued Mar. 22, 1977 to Andrew A. Wendy et al.